And yet, because they seem to still cling to the ghosts of happier times, they remain fascinating destinations, particularly for photographers and enthusiasts seeking to preserve remnants of their luxurious past.

The magical Italian castle of Sammezzano, in the foothills of Tuscany, is a classic example.

It's been unused for more than two decades but has housed both nobility and paying guests.

The 17th century palazzo came of age in the 1800s when eccentric Italian nobleman Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes of Aragon spent 40 years turning its rooms into mosaic masterpieces inspired by the Arab, Indian, Persian and Spanish worlds.

It was converted into a luxury hotel in the 1970s, but the business folded in 1990 when its majestic charms were sealed off from the world.

Sammezzano was auctioned off in 1999 to be renovated into a luxury resort, complete with spa and golf courses, but these plans failed.

It's been up for sale three times in the past two years, initially for $40.4 million, later a bargain $13.69 million.

Niagara Falls

In the US, despite pulling in 12 million annual visitors, Niagara Falls is no stranger to abandonment says urban explorer Matthew Christopher, whose Facebook page "Abandoned America" has more than 400,000 followers.

"How do you reconcile people coming in to see natural beauty, yet they are driving through a stretch of chemical plants to get there and later on, abandoned chemical plants?" he says. "It's not exactly a place you want to go for your honeymoon."

Some former luxury hotels have found new roles offering more rudimentary living.

Once lauded as the "pride of Africa," the art deco-inspired Grande Hotel in Mozambique's coastal city of Beira is today home to some 3,500 squatters.

Built overlooking the Indian Ocean, it boasted an Olympic-size pool, restaurants, bars, a post office, cinema and shops.

It closed in 1963, fewer than 10 years after it opened, having failed to attract the number of guests that were expected.